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LeBron James of the Miami Heat vies for a rebound against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half in Game 2 of the NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena June 9, 2013 in Miami, Florida.

Even if the Miami Heat lose to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA finals and fail to capture their second consecutive title, the Heat will undoubtedly soon usurp the Dallas Mavericks as the league's fifth-most valuable team.

Since James hit South Beach in the summer of 2010 the value of the Heat has increased from $364 million to $625 million. Before James arrived the Heat were the 12th most valuable team in the 30-team league. Last January they were ranked sixth.

Few owners in any sport have turned around a team as well as Mark Cuban has since he paid $280 million for the downtrodden team and half of American Airlines Center in 2000. The Mavericks were valued at $685 million this past January, 145% more than Cuban's purchase price and trail only the New York Knicks ($1.1 billion), Los Angeles Lakers ($1.0 billion), Chicago Bulls ($800 million) and Boston Celtics ($730 million).

But the Mavericks have been on the decline since winning the title by beating the Heat in the 2010-11 finals. The Mavericks were swept in the first round of the playoffs in 2011-12 by the Thunder and didn't make the playoffs this season. As a result, revenue is down. The year the Mavericks won the title revenue peaked at $166 million. The following season revenue dropped to $137 million. Revenue most assuredly slipped more this past season as the team had no home playoff games and cut ticket prices 4%.

A rising tide lifts all boats. And with the Sacramento Kings recently selling for $534 million--the second highest price ever paid for an NBA team and an arena (Ted Leonsis paid $551 million for controlling interest in the Washington Wizards and Verizon Center in 2010)--the Heat and Mavericks will both post a significant increase in value when our next NBA valuations are published early next year. But the Heat will pass the Mavericks.